Zen and the art of traveling with a five year old...

ZENCLAY...almost heaven, mountain momma....something something ...Morgantown, West Virginia. I loaded up the mini SUV and headed south...me, the wife,and our five year old daughter. We packed a suitcase, computer, camera, cooler full of waters and snacks, and plenty of DVDS for the road! We were off!...and in a little over two hours we were there. I juried into a show there called "The Four States Ceramic Exhibition," and we came to deliver the two pieces that got in the show. The show runs from the beginning of March through the middle of April.

Sometimes I send my work away barely knowing what the exhibition space will look like or what the people will be like who are handling the work and setting up the exhibit, but today was not one of those days. I was very pleased that I had taken the time to drive the relatively short distance in order to deliver my work in person. ZENCLAY is a three-story building that is going on its ninth year of being ZENCLAY. The bottom floor is a nice sized studio space with an attached gallery that is small, but clean and bright. The middle floor is a hopping little cafe/coffee and tea bar populated by WVU students, and the top floor is another open, clean gallery space with chairs and tables for overflow of the cafe. The owner/instructor/teacher/resident potter is a very pleasant Susan Ting.

Her story was pretty amazing. She has actually owned the place for about twenty years. Believe it or not, it was a chinese food restaurant and a laundromat on the bottom floor. WHOA! She has truly realized a dream in establishing this studio/teaching facility/gallery and cafe. Also, her own intricately carved porcelain vessels were featured in the front gallery.

So after having increased my good karma by at least two from our visit with ZENCLAY, we three found a nice hotel with an indoor pool and hottub...my daughter loves the hottub!...plush beds and free HBO, maybe even a complimentary breakfast between 6 and 10:00 AM. Then, it's off... pack the SUV! Make sure we don't leave anything behind, and hit the road. Long, perilous...not really. In a little over two hours we will be back in the greater metropolitan area of Indiana, Pa....country roads take me home.